NEW YORK – March 10, 2017 – Coming together to feed local families, replenish non-perishable supplies and recruit new volunteers to sustain important anti-hunger efforts, Island Harvest Food Bank joined NBC 4 New York / WNBC, Telemundo 47 / WNJU and Stop & Shop to announce Feeding Our Families / Alimentando a Nuestras Familias, a massive, Tri-State food and volunteer drive scheduled for Saturday, April 8.

“Hunger is a year-round, chronic problem on Long Island and across the country,” said Randi Shubin Dresner, President & CEO, Island Harvest Food Bank, which provides food assistance and related services to 316,000 people in Nassau and Suffolk counties. “Thanks to our partners NBC 4 New York, Telemundo 47 and Stop & Shop, we will get the message out about how prevalent hunger is in the tri-state area while collecting much-needed food to help our neighbors living with the uncertainty of hunger and food insecurity.”

Donations can be made at 199 Stop & Shop locations, including on Long Island. Volunteers from Island Harvest Food Bank and other partnering food banks will collect and pack all donated items to distribute to local families.

DONATIONS: Non-perishable food and personal hygiene items, including frequently requested items like baby diapers. Visit NBCNewYork.com/fooddrive or Telemundo47.com/feature/alimentando-a-nuestras-familias to access list of items that can be donated, including a sample “shopping list.”

“Fighting hunger is very important to WNBC. Food banks often face their greatest need between January and August, and regularly depend on volunteers to support their operations. Our April 8 Feeding our Families food and volunteer drive will help local food banks secure these important resources, which will make a difference for families across the Tri-State area,” said Eric Lerner, President and General Manager of NBC 4 New York.

NBC 4 New York and Telemundo 47 will offer live reports and broadcast cut-ins from several Stop & Shop locations on April 8, including on NBC 4 New York’s Weekend Today in New York and News 4 New York, as well as on Telemundo 47’s Noticiero 47 Telemundo. News personalities will also visit many Stop & Shop collection locations on April 8 to support on-site efforts.

“We see it time and time again – local families forced to choose between putting food on the table or keeping a roof over their head. The impact of this choice is particularly felt amongst our children, who are often forced to go to bed hungry. This is why Telemundo 47’s Alimentando a Nuestras food and volunteer drive is so important – and why we encourage our viewers to come out on April 8 and join us as we help our friends and neighbors in need,” said Cristina Schwarz, President and General Manager of Telemundo 47.

Stop & Shop, the Tri-State’s largest supermarket chain with 199 stores located throughout the region, is committed to supporting the communities that it serves and those organizations that are on the front lines battling hunger every day. As a food retailer, Stop & Shop recognizes the important role it can play in hunger relief efforts. In 2016, Stop & Shop donated almost $4 million to hunger relief agencies throughout the region. Part of that effort included its signature Meat the Needs program which delivers safe, nutritious and much needed meat to regional food banks and pantries for families in need.

“Stop & Shop is proud to continue its long-standing support of local food banks and pantries on behalf of Feeding Our Families,” said Bob Yager, Stop & Shop New York Division Lead. “This will be the largest single-day food drive Stop & Shop has ever hosted, and our associates are eager to make this incredible event a success.”

In addition to the participation of Island Harvest Food Bank and Stop & Shop, the stations’ April 8 food drive will include the involvement of six other food banks, including Connecticut Food Bank, Community Food Bank of New Jersey, Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, Food Bank for New York City, Food Bank for Westchester, and Food Bank of the Hudson Valley.

Food bank operations face periods of greatest need between January and August — a time outside of traditional periods of giving and volunteering coinciding with the holiday season. Non-perishable items are requested by families daily, but the most frequently-requested items are those not covered by public assistance programs such as WIC and SNAP. These requests range from baby diapers to personal hygiene items such as toilet paper, tampons and more.

Unique to NBC 4 New York and Telemundo 47’s Feeding our Families / Alimentando a Nuestras Familias food and volunteer drive is the “Give 4” recruitment initiative. Those that register to volunteer four hours of their time every four months at local food banks can aid in more ways than stocking shelves, packing supplies and making local deliveries. “Give 4” donors can also assist local food banks and rescue operations through non-physical, customized tasks including accounting, social media, digital marketing and advertising, among others.

For more information on the April 8 Feeding Our Families / Alimentando a Nuestras Familias food and volunteer drive, please visit NBCNewYork.com, Telemundo47.com, StopandShop.com or any participating food bank or food rescue organization.

About Island Harvest Food BankIsland Harvest Food Bank is a leading hunger-relief organization that provides food and other resources to people in need. Always treating those it helps with dignity and respect, its goal is to end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island through efficient food collection and distribution; enhanced hunger-awareness and nutrition-education programs; job training; and direct services targeted at children, senior citizens, veterans and others at risk. Approximately .96 cents of every dollar donated to Island Harvest Food Bank goes to programs that support more than 316,000 Long Islanders. Island Harvest Food Bank is a lead agency in the region’s emergency-response preparedness for food and product distribution, and is a member of Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief organization. More information can be found at www.islandharvest.org.

About NBC 4 New York / WNBC
NBC 4 New York / WNBC is the flagship station of the NBC Owned Television Stations division of NBCUniversal, serving the New York Tri-State area with an unparalleled commitment to broadcast excellence for 75 years.

The station features New York’s largest investigative reporting team, the I-Team and includes Edward R. Murrow and Emmy Award-winning journalists who successfully track down the answers to the questions most important to viewers. Storm Team 4, the station’s trusted weather team, utilizes the most accurate and the most powerful weather technology available to keep Tri-State viewers informed and safe when severe weather strikes. This includes StormTracker 4, the only commercial high-frequency S-Band dual polarization fixed Doppler weather radar operating in the Northeast.

In addition to NBC 4 New York’s primary channel, other programming outlets include COZI TV, the station’s multicast channel, and out-of-home platforms, including TV screens in taxi cabs, elevators and aboard New York-New Jersey PATH trains. The station also delivers news and information across all platforms, including its dedicated website, mobile app and social media platforms. For more information about NBC 4 New York, visit NBCNewYork.com.

About Telemundo 47 New York / WNJU
Telemundo 47 / WNJU is the local Telemundo television station serving Spanish-speaking viewers in the New York Tri-State area. Owned by NBCUniversal, Telemundo 47 has been delivering local news, information and entertainment programming to viewers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut for more than 50 years. The Tri-State’s Spanish-language broadcasting channel for soccer, Telemundo 47 will offer exclusive Spanish-language coverage of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2018 FIFA World Cup™ tournament.

Delivering more than 24 hours of locally-produced news and programing each week, Telemundo 47 offers comprehensive breaking news coverage and features the New York market’s only team of bilingual meteorologists, La Autoridad en El Tiempo, who use cutting-edge technology to keep viewers and their families safe and informed. This includes Tele Doppler 47, con tecnología S band, the most powerful and most accurate weather technology available. Telemundo 47’s local consumer investigative unit, Telemundo Responde, returns every telephone call, responds to every electronic inquiry and has recovered nearly $1.5 million for local viewers.

Telemundo 47 features Acceso Total, the region’s only local entertainment variety program with TeleXitos, the station’s multicast network, offering viewers many beloved, iconic television series in an easy-to-watch, comfortable Spanish-language format. The station demonstrates its commitment to the communities it serves by cultivating local partnerships with organizations that reflect the diversity of the local market. Telemundo 47 provides news and information across all platforms, online at Telemundo47.com, and via its dedicated mobile app and across social media.

About Stop & Shop

The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company LLC employs over 61,000 associates and operates 419 stores throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey. The company helps support local communities fight hunger, combat childhood cancer and promote general health and wellness – with emphasis on children’s educational and support programs. In its commitment to be a sustainable company, Stop & Shop is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council and EPA’s Smart Way program and has been recognized by the EPA for the superior energy management of its stores. Stop & Shop is an Ahold USA company. To learn more about Stop & Shop, visit www.stopandshop.com or www.facebook.com/stopandshop.